The Golden State Valkyries can clinch their first WNBA championship today when they visit Angel Reese and the Atlanta Dream for Game 6 of the Finals. The league moved the game from 8 p.m. ET to 12:30 p.m. ET after running into venue issues, and media personality Craig Carton went off about the lunchtime start.

The OutKick personality also brought Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark into the argument. He went after Reese’s recent shooting too, with Golden State one win from the title.

Craig Carton Ties WNBA Finals Game 6 Lunchtime Slot to Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese

Carton made his case in a segment OutKick posted on Tuesday, the day after the WNBA announced the new start time. He began with a player who isn’t in the series.

“Do you think for a minute that if Caitlin Clark was playing this WNBA Finals that this game would be played at 12:30 on a Thursday afternoon? The answer is no. If Caitlin Clark was playing, this would be a primetime game in a real arena with real fans and a real television audience. I’m not saying you fix games so Caitlin is in the Finals. I’m saying you embrace what made people tune in.”

Game 6 is at State Farm Arena, home of the NBA’s Atlanta Hawks. It is not at Gateway Center Arena, the building with about 3,500 seats where the Dream played most of their regular-season home games. On Oct. 6, the team announced it will play all of its home games at State Farm Arena starting next season.

From there, Carton turned to the Dream forward: “Nobody turns on a WNBA game to watch Angel Reese make two baskets in an entire game and be afraid to shoot the basketball because she knows she stinks.”

Reese has made two field goals in each of the last two games. She went 2-of-12 with six turnovers in a 67-62 loss in Game 4 on Oct. 24.

Then, Reese went 2-of-8 with 15 rebounds and 5 assists in Monday’s 64-55 loss in Game 5, which put the Valkyries up 3-2. Before that, she opened the Finals with three straight double-doubles, including 30 points and 16 rebounds in a Game 2 win.

Meanwhile, Carton saved his biggest swing for the league itself.

“Let’s get down to brass tacks, this is exactly when the games should be played. Because nobody wants to see it… Isn’t it time we disband the WNBA? Isn’t it time it disappears?” Carton said.

The early start came down to a scheduling conflict at the arena. The Hawks host the Cleveland Cavaliers at State Farm Arena on Thursday night. The Hawks pushed their tip from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m. to accommodate the Finals game and the same-day arena turnaround.

WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert cited the crowds as the league made the switch public on Monday, saying, “The sellout crowds and extraordinary atmosphere at State Farm Arena for Games 3 and 4 were a tremendous success, and we’re excited to give thousands more fans the opportunity to experience Game 6 with a championship on the line.”

On Wednesday, the Dream announced that Game 6 is a sellout. That means a crowd of about 17,000 is expected in Atlanta for the third time in the series.

Thursday’s game airs on USA Network and streams on Peacock. A Golden State win ends the series. An Atlanta win forces Game 7 on Saturday at 8 p.m. ET at Chase Center in San Francisco.